Musicians Tune Up For Folk Festival

EUSTIS - Ken Skeens said he grew up in the Kentucky mountains, listening to the Grand Ole Opry on a battery-powered radio.

"And I used to listen to the big guys playing under `the big tree,' " he said. "It was a big old maple tree, and I taught myself by watching them pick."

The Eustis resident will be one of several performers this weekend at the 7th annual Lake County Folk Festival.

Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The event is free.

In 1992, Skeens won first, second and third prizes in the first Florida songwriting contest named for Will McLean, who is known as the father of Florida folk music.

Skeens and his wife, Leigh Goldsmith, will perform in the Alice McClelland Memorial Bandshell in Ferran Park at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and in the festival's closing "Circle of Song" at 5 p.m. Sunday.

They can also be seen at the festival's second stage, Alexander Park, at the corner of Bay Street and Magnolia Avenue, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

They will appear both days at 3 p.m. at the Flying Fish Gallery, one of four showcases at the festival. Other venues are the Eustis Street Grill, the Lake Eustis Museum of Art and Harper's Alley.

"We present the acts up close and personal," said Jeff Friberg, who is both a festival organizer and a performer. "The most moving moments are at the smaller stages."

Named one of Florida's top five folk festivals by the Friends of Florida Folk last year, the event is the only one of the five that is free, said Kace Montgomery, who owns Flying Fish Gallery.

Arvid Smith and Lee Hunter of Jacksonville perform as Tammerlin, with Smith playing 12-string, steel and slide guitars accompanied by Hunter's percussion in a Celtic style. They are scheduled to perform Saturday only, at the bandshell at 3:30 p.m. and in Alexander Park at 4:30 p.m.

Lake County -- Eustis in particular -- is home to many of the well-known acts, Montgomery said, including Cyd Ward, Steve Waters, Marylea Lueth, Wayne Carter, Larry Ziegenfuss and Friberg.

Skeens and Goldsmith moved to Eustis in June 2003.

"I lived in Seminole County for 30 years, but my closest contacts in folk have always been in Lake County," Skeens said.

Jonathan Hodge, twice the Florida State fiddle champion, is also a Eustis resident. He will perform in the bandshell at 4 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, and in Alexander Park at 11:30 Saturday with the group MT Pawketts.

Performances are scheduled every half hour at the bandshell and at the Alexander stage. Showcases begin at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. at each of the four venues. Programs will be available at the venues Saturday.